


Cellmates

by Kiwi_the_Kylee



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:20:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22092469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiwi_the_Kylee/pseuds/Kiwi_the_Kylee
Summary: Kody is more than used to being trapped, and she understands the hatred that has permeated her life from the moment she was born—that's is what comes with being a monster, after all. Corona's dungeon is far from the worst place she's been imprisoned, even if her imprisonment is the result of an accident, and she resigned herself to never seeing the heavy door that locked her in open again. When it does, it doesn't promise freedom. If anything, it's the opposite.Varian is an angry teenager that's been through enough; she would know. Getting close to him isn't the easiest thing she's ever done—both for her own rampant fear and skittish nature, and his own rage—but she made a vow to help people after all the horrible things she'd done in her past.Why not start now, with him?
Relationships: Rudiger & Varian (Disney), Varian (Disney) & Original Character(s), Varian (Disney) & Original Female Character(s), Varian (Disney)/Original Character(s)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

The steady dripping of a loose pipe was the only consistent sound in the dungeon; all else was brief. The opening of slots to pass food to the occupants of the dungeon, the arguing of the two guards she'd come to know as Stan and Pete, the steady footfalls of patrol, it was all random. At least, it felt random. Time passed differently when you couldn't see the sun, and they'd been sure to lock her up good and tight. 

The cell was all but pitch black, the wall solid and the door the same, save for the slot her food was pushed through, and even that remained closed at all times other than necessary. The only light came from the cracks of the door and the cracks of the slot. Depressing, blinding, dehabilitating; they were breaking her spirit as much as they were protecting others from the beast that she was.

The depressing nature of the cell, and her own mental health falling deeper and deeper without the medication she'd grown so dependent on didn't even brush the terror that filled her chest every time she reminded herself that she was trapped. Claustrophobic, and trapped in a small cell, alone and helpless.

At least it wasn't the ring.

The sickening feeling of the walls closing in never quite stopped, no matter how long she remained in the cell. No matter how many times food and drink was shoved through the slot. Hiding her face against her knees quickly became the only reprieve for her sanity; the only thing keeping her away from the panic attacks that had racked her body nearly constantly in the first few weeks she spent in the dungeon. 

Her door hadn't been opened since she was locked up, which might have been three days, as much as it might have been thirty. They fed her less than the other prisoners, too, she'd noticed. Some of the guards didn't dare open the slot of her door, not when they knew what she'd done.

She didn't blame them. She knew she was a monster, and she wouldn't have wanted to risk contact with herself if she was them either. 

She'd lost weight in the time she'd been locked up, but not enough to take away the pudge that made her so soft—really, she couldn't even starve right—but it was all the same to her. Lonely, hated, trapped; she was used to living like this.

She almost wished that she hadn't had the few years of freedom that proceeded this stay, they undoubtedly made it worse.

She was just glad they weren't making her fight. The fighting ring was still a recent memory, and one she didn't want to relive.

The sound of food slots opening made her perk up, and she hurried to her own, waiting for the tell-tale screech of the metal sliding open. When it did, she dug in immediately.

It was far from luxurious, but the food in the ring had been much worse—it had also always tasted like blood, but that was likely just from her own blood from whatever beating had been the most recent. She didn't remember a day going by in the ring without her stomach aching as she ate from well-aimed kicks and punches.

She was picking at what remained of the mush that they passed off as food when the solid hunk of metal that was her door slid against the ground. She was so startled that she scurried to the corner, huddling herself against the bench that masqueraded as her bed.

If they were coming in, then she must have done something to warrant punishment, or maybe they were finally going to give her a trial. She didn't want to find out if her immortality had vanished with the rest of her abilities, and even though her actions had been unintentional, she'd harmed upwards of ten bystanders when she'd lost control. Would they kill her?

She'd been tortured for less, death seemed like the more merciful option, and she didn't _want_ to die.

The door stayed open a crack for a moment before opening farther, enough for a person to be shoved through before the door shut once again, quickly and with an air of finality.

The form stood still for a moment, fists clenched and shoulders trembling, before it approached the bench on the opposite side and sat. Her cellmate's shackles had been removed, leaving them in a better situation than she had been for the first week already.

But why would they put someone with _her_?

Kody watched cautiously, not moving in the slightest in fear she'd be spotted in the dark, but when a fluffy form came bounded towards her, she shrieked—eliciting a yell from the new arrival as well—and hopped onto her bench.

The fluffy form peaked over the side of the bench, chittering and tilting it's head curiously as it did, before hopping up and joining her.

She'd missed animals, more than she realized, apparently. The sight of the chubby creature made her tear up.

"H-hey, little guy," her voice was rough from lack of use, and pained, but she smiled as she reached her hand out for the animal to sniff, and laughed lightly as it took that as an invitation to crawl to her shoulders, "I've missed fur!" She ran her hands through the fur on the animal's back and moved him from her shoulders to her arms, where she held him like a baby.

The creature didn't mind in the slightest, chatting happily at her affection and relaxing into her arms.

In her elation, she'd practically blocked her cellmate's existence from her mind. That was, until they spoke.

"I didn't realize I'd have a cellmate." He sounded angry, bitter, and she wasn't in the position to decide whether her presence, or his situation was the cause of that.

In the silence that followed, they stared at each other, both faces obscured by the darkness, but enough light from the cracks of the door to see each other's outline.

Kody couldn't force herself to respond at first— _a man? They put a man in here with me? That's just cruel!_ —but when she did, her voice trembled, still cracking with lack of use, "Didn't realize they dislike anyone as much as they dislike me."

He remained silent this time, reading her through her voice as outline as much as she'd read him, "What did you do?"

Well, it wasn't like they had much else to talk about, was it?

"Hurt people. They don't believe it was on accident. Or maybe they do, just don't think they should risk letting it happen again. Doesn't matter to me. All that matters is I'm in here." She took a breath, raking a hand through her hair as the animal in her arms patted at her face, "You?"

He shifted in his spot, his body language clearly nervous, even in the darkness, "I'm a thief."

_Liar._

He didn't sound as angry now, more exhausted than anything, but bitterness still coated his tone. She knew how that felt. It was surprising just how exhausting being dragged to a dungeon could be.

And being bitter? She knew that feeling more intimately than she knew any other.

"A thief? What could you have possibly stole to end up in here? This is max security, pal, what, did you steal a person?"

He shifted again, "No, the crown."

"The crown." She didn't believe him, not at all, but it wasn't her business anyway, was it? "Don't tell me then. You can call me King."

"Varian." His voice cracked.

Her chest tightened at the sound.

"Well, its nice to have someone to speak to at least." He laid down as she spoke, curling into a ball as the animal in her arms hopped down and ran to his bench to join him. The shaking of his shoulders left nothing to the imagination of what he was doing. She laid down herself, and turned her back to the man—the _boy_.

What had he _done_?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Expect a good helping of angst on the part of both Varian and Kody as this goes on. Neither of them are in the best state of mind, and I'm a sucker for some good hurt/comfort.

Varian didn't sleep, and, he quickly realized, his cellmate wasn't any better off.

She tossed and turned endlessly, not that he had any reason to complain. He wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway, even if the bench hadn't been freezing and made of stone, and even if he hadn't heard _King_ crawl from her bench, at what couldn't have been earlier than three am, and begin to mutter and whimper.

Ruddiger, who had been curled up against his chest, fast asleep and content to listen to his human's heartbeat, shot up as soon as he heard the sound and hurried to her form.

Trembling laughter escaped her before she hushed the raccoon's chattering, "I don't want to wake him up. He needs to sleep."

Ruddiger chattered indignantly for another moment, fully aware that Varian was wide awake and staring at the wall, but he silenced himself.

"What could your master have done to land himself in here with me, little guy?" She hummed, "They let him keep you, at least, so is it really that bad?"

Ruddiger chittered again, quieter now, and she laughed again.

"I'm sure I'll find out eventually, the guards love to talk. He doesn't seem so bad, though. Especially not if you're so loyal to him. Animals are pretty good judges of character, right?"

Silence overtook the cell for a few minutes, and he almost thought she had finally fallen asleep, but she spoke again, even quieter this time, "I've been alone for so long, even before I was thrown in here. I think it will just be nice to be able to talk to someone else again."

With that, she fell silent and stayed silent, giving him time to reflect.

On how it all went wrong, of course. How his plan had failed so disastrously, and how he'd ended up here; how his father was still trapped in the amber and he needed to find a way to free him—and, by extension, a way out of here—but on his companion as well.

King. He'd almost choked when he heard the nickname, but she clearly didn't have a clue why he was here. She didn't seem dangerous, not at all. She couldn't have been much older than him, and she was small, shorter than even him certainly, even without having to compare their heights, she'd been hidden in a corner when he'd first been thrown into this cell, too.

She hurt people? Accidentally or not, he couldn't believe that.

Why else could she be here, though?

She was right, the door and walls both being solid meant that this was a cell intended only for the most heinous of criminals. Himself, he understood, but the trembling girl who had teared up upon seeing Ruddiger? What could she have possibly done that was so horrible?

x

It couldn't have possibly been more than an hour that he'd been asleep when he was jerked awake by the screeching of the metal slot of the door.

He groaned, blinking awake and being met with Ruddiger's bright eyes, "Morning, buddy."

His head turned to the side, meeting with King's own tired eyes. He couldn't see much in the dark, but the light from the slot made the heavy bags under her eyes clear. How long had she been awake?

"Morning."

He gave her a nod.

He had no intension of making friends with her. That was what had gotten him into this position in the first place; assuming anyone could be trusted. Friends, inevitably, would turn their backs on him.

And didn't he deserve it? He made a mess of everything, that was why his father was trapped now—his own mistake—but if Rapunzel hadn't broken her promise, than maybe-

"You should eat, Varian."

He glanced at the tray that had been slid under the door, "What about you?"

She shrugged, "I get fed every other time everyone else is fed. I don't know why, never thought it was worth asking. Just figured that they want to keep my contact with them as rare as possible."

She understood feeding him. He hadn't ate when she had the night before, but sliding a single meal beneath the door was cruel in two parts.

For her, to watch the boy eat while she waited for whatever meal they felt generous enough to give her, and for him, they hadn't even considered the threat of what they assumed was a feral animal-girl attacking him for his meal. Whoever had made that executive decision needed to be replaced, that was for sure.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't realize he was holding the tray out to her until he called her "name".

"Half and half is fair, right?"

What had he _done_?

She looked between the tray and his face twice, brow furrowing. She was smart enough to question his motives, even if he didn't strike her as a threat, and kindness wasn't something she was used to, no matter how small. Owing people wasn't something she made a habit of either, _no matter how small._

"No, it's yours. I ate last night, besides," she eyed the door, the door that she could've strong-armed her way through the night before, if not so scared, "I feel sick."

"Oh," it was a simple response, but he took the tray back and sat, on her bench. She pushed herself away from him when his arm brushed her own, and he mumbled an apology as he ate.

He wasn't sure why he'd offered to share, or, even more-so, why he'd chosen to sit beside her. He truly had no intentions of forming anything that even resembled a friendship with her, but here he was, sitting beside her—too close, for both of them.

"So, still not planning on telling me what you did?" Varian froze, and she shrugged, "that's fine. I just don't understand why they put you in here with me. It seems cruel."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because of what I did. They believe I'm going to hurt someone, and they put you in here with me. Seems a little twisted to me. Maybe they're testing me." She shrugged, and, from this close, he could see that her height was the only small thing about her.

Muscles were clear beneath her shirt and, even if she was shorter than him, he knew that she'd easily win in a fight.

He stayed quiet.

"I'm- I'm not going to attack you. It was an accident and I just-" she dug her fingers into her arms, "I was so scared."

Her teeth dug into her bottom lip, and, in the light from the cracks, he could tell her eyes were downcast, "It's fine. I believe you."

Kody hummed and tightened her grip on her arms, "Maybe you shouldn't."

She stood and moved to the floor before he could respond, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Considering Kody's backstory is already really extensive, it's really fun to write while keeping everything quiet for now. I'm really bad at not dragging things out, so I wouldn't worry about it being quiet for too long, aha.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter today, but the start of some good old bonding. Not that I'll let it be this easy for them for too long aha

"I was in a fighting ring."

It had been three days since Varian had been thrown into her cell, and they had hardly spoken following the first morning. She knew that he was trying to keep her at a distance—even though some of his actions portrayed the exact opposite—but at this point, she blamed herself less than she blamed the fact that it was setting in.

He was trapped.

The first few weeks were the hardest. At least for her, they'd been the hardest in the ring, and they had been the hardest part of being in here.

She might as well try to get his mind off of it. God knows she wished someone had been there to quell her panic when the cell door had been slammed. 

And she owed him that much, even if he didn't have a choice in being there, his presence made the ever-confining walls stop feeling like they were closing in on her. She couldn't thank him enough for that.

She suspected Varian had a tinge of uncertainty in how to interact with her. She wasn't any more interested in getting close to him than he was in getting close to her, though. He didn't need to become involved with her. Not with what she was. 

At least, that was what she was going to tell herself.

She didn't need friends. She didn't _deserve_ friends.

"What?"

"I was in a fighting ring. From seven to ten. Got out five years ago, now I'm here." She shrugged, despite the fact that what she'd revealed was something so deep-seeded in her mind that she spent every night thinking about it, and about what she'd done to survive. Playing it off made it less encompassing; kept her from spiraling. 

She wasn't entirely sure why she chose to bring it up at all, all things considered. It wasn't any of his business, and she still had no idea what he'd done—the guards had been oddly quiet since his arrival, almost like he put them on edge—but she had been awake for... oh, who could keep track. She'd been awake long enough for her inhibitions to begin to fade.

"A-a fighting ring? In Corona?"

She shook her head, "No, no, it's not nearly that simple." She couldn't begin to explain everything, not now. That would take too long, and she would need to be in a much clearer frame of mind, but the fighting ring, that she could talk about.

"A fighting ring doesn't really sound that simple in the first place." She could see the bags under his own eyes beginning to take shape, and she was sure that he was beginning to adjust the the darkness. She wondered if he'd be able to see the scar across her eye.

"I guess it wouldn't. It was all I knew for those three years, though. Even now, it still feels like I'm there sometimes, when I close my eyes."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Kody shrugged—funny, she was choosing to share her trauma before she shared her real name, "Bad experiences are good conversation starters, right?"

Ruddiger was tucked under her arched legs as she stared at the ceiling, the picture of lack of interest, "And why are you so intent on starting a conversation?"

She knew that tone good and well; guarded and suspicious. She knew what someone who'd been hurt sounded like, and God knew she took other's pain to heart. The joys of empathy—one of the many things that had made the ring a hell on earth.

"I was in a fighting ring. I spent the last five years hiding from a man intent on dragging me back, and having no clue who was working for him in order to drag me back. I haven't had much conversation since I was a kid. I just want to talk to someone."

Varian stayed quiet, his own gaze fixated on the metal door that kept them trapped together for all hours of the day. He could've had a worse cellmate, all things considered. She could've been violent, or crazy, or any number of things that would have made this situation harder to bare. She just wanted to talk.

"If you don't want to talk, that's fine. I just, thought I'd try." She shrugged again—something he was quickly beginning to realize was a nervous habit that didn't portray disinterest at all. She rolled onto her side, facing the wall.

He definitely could've had a worse cellmate.

"I don't mind talking."

She perked up immediately, sitting up and facing him, careful to not disturb Ruddiger's sleeping form, "Great!" She crossed her legs beneath her, "So, what do you do, y'know, when you're not in here?"

He almost regretted agreeing to conversation, but, even in the dim lighting, he could tell that her eyes had brightened, considerable more than he'd seen since meeting her, "Alchemy."

She cocked her head, "Alchemy? So, sciency stuff? I was never really good at all of that. More of a reader, myself. What kinda stuff do you do?"

The present tense seemed intentional, not a slip of the tongue by any means, but he didn't ponder on it. She was waiting expectantly, and, if there was one thing he didn't have trouble rambling about, it was alchemy.

To her credit, she didn't interrupt after he began speaking, save to offer a question or two—which he was more than happy to answer. She sat with rapt attention, head propped in her hand, and, for a time, he wasn't trapped in a damp, dark cell with a captive audience. He wasn't a criminal and his father wasn't trapped in amber. For a time, he was himself again. 


	4. Chapter 4

Varian, Kody decided, shouldn't frown.

Her eyes were well-adjusted to the dark, and she'd seen the ever-present expression on his face. He'd lost something, she knew that much. She could see it in his eyes; those were the same eyes she'd seen in the mirror every day for the last eight years.

His lips were down-turned, and they'd remained that way for the entire time she'd known him.

But he shouldn't look like that. Not with a smile that shined like that.

Her questions resulted in increasingly in-depth rambling, full of words she barely understood—both on account of complexity and how fast he spoke—but, if she was honest, she only continued to ask questions to see the ever-growing excitement on his face.

He was passionate, that much was undoubtedly clear, and he'd quickly become lost in his words.

She'd certainly succeeded in distracting him.

But the spark of affection in her heart made her cringe. _Oh no_ , this was just a means to make him stop moping. It was only logical. She didn't want to be friends. Not with him, not with anyone.

X

The next cell over wasn't nearly as reinforced as the cell Kody and Varian inhabited. It was plain, only bars blocking an open cell, and it made it easy to hear conversation, even if said conversation was taking place behind a solid door.

The man leaning against the wall only picked up bits and pieces of the mostly one-sided discussion, but it was enough for him. He knew all he needed to know.

X

The silence that followed Varian's extended rambling was comfortable; more comfortable than any silence had been in the cell since she was thrown into it. She felt like she understood him a bit better, but she still didn't have the slightest clue as to how he'd ended up thrown into a cell with her.

"What about you?"

Kody cocked her head, "What do I do when I'm not here?" She shrugged, "Nothing interesting like alchemy. The last few years I've just focused on reading and writing, family, and, uh," the only other thing she'd focused on was keeping herself in shape, just in case, despite the fact that she'd refused to use her _talents_ after escaping the ring, "that's pretty much it."

"Really?" He clearly didn't believe her.

"I, uh," she rubbed the back of her head and sighed, "no, no it's not." She glanced at the ground and pulled her feet onto the bench, hugging her knees to her chest, "Look, when I said things were more complicated than the fighting ring, I meant that I don't really know how to explain it. I can do things, things that I don't understand."

"What-what do you mean?" He sat beside her, and he noticed that she hugged her knees tighter,

"That's why I'm here. The same reason I was in the ring. I can do things, awful things, things that end with people getting hurt. Those things made the leader of the ring want me as his champion, so, after I got free, I refused to use those abilities ever again." Her grip on her legs loosened and her feet met the floor again as she stood, raking her hands through her hair, "But the older I get, the stronger those abilities get, only now, I can't control them. And that's how I ended up here."

"I tried to kill the royal family."

Kody balked, her own upset fading in an instant, " _What_?"

"I-yeah," he took a breath, "it's a long story."

There were so many emotions meshing together in his expression and in his eyes, anger, regret, sadness. She sank back onto the bench, carefully placing a hand on his shoulder, "We've got time."

He explained the black rocks, Rapunzel's promise, how she'd broken his trust, how he'd used her to get his hands on the Sundrop flower, and how he'd realized that she was the Sundrop. His expression fell farther in farther, the frown she was coming to dispise taking it's place on his lips once again.

"It didn't work, and I guess-I guess I just lost it."

Kody bit her lip. He was very clearly in the wrong, and it suddenly made so much sense why he'd been thrown into this cell with her, but she knew what loss did to a person.

And she'd done horrible things too. Was it really so different that he'd done it out of grief, and she'd done it in an attempt to survive?

"Rapunzel, she, uh, she didn't really have in choice in helping you, you know? If she was acting as queen."

"She didn't even check on me after the storm was over. That was the least she could do." The bitterness in his voice cut through to her heart.

Had she sounded like that when she promised vengeance; when she'd promised to _kill_ the man that had trapped her in a endless loop of beatings and suffering?

"You're right. Varian, sometimes people make mistakes. Maybe she thought you didn't want to see her, but that doesn't make it right." Her grip on his shoulder tightened, "Trust is a dangerous thing, and giving it to people gives them a chance to hurt you and leave you, but," she bit her lip again, fighting down her own hatred for the concept of placing trust in others, "but sometimes it's worth forgiving."

Varian's jaw was clenched, thoughts very clearly racing through his head as she spoke.

"I don't think she meant to break her promise."

"What can I do about it now?" He rushed to his feet, pacing in front of the bench, "I've made too many mistakes, they'll never let me out of here. Everyone out there hates me!"

Kody opened her mouth to speak, but a voice beyond the door beat her to the punch, "Well, not everyone."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, this chapter kind of got ahead of me in terms of how I was planning for the plot to go, but everything's out in the open now! Well, at least most of it is. 
> 
> There's definitely still quite a bit both of them need to address before they're ready to consider each other friends.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short one before I head back to work on Thursday. I've been catching up on some reading, for an excuse for this update taking awhile.

The punch that landed against her jaw hardly made her stumble, earning only the slightest of flinches before she retaliated with her own attack. 

Her fist met flesh, sending her opponent flying back and to the ground before she jumped onto his form and repeatedly slammed her fists into his face. Again, and again, and again, each hit making a blinding pain resonate in her knuckles.

By the time she stopped, she was panting, her hands covered in blood from both the man's mangled face and the shredded skin of her knuckles. The man didn't move, even his breaths shallow, but she couldn't find it in her to care.

He'd brought this on himself.

The people that surrounded her, her fellow captives, stayed back. Every single one of them looked horrified, but she still couldn't find it in herself to care.

She stood, the movement resulting in everyone pushing themselves against the wall, well away from her. She raked a hand through her hair, covering her face with even more blood than what had sprayed her as she mutilated the guard, and leaned back over and grabbed the keys from his belt.

"If you want out, follow me, if not, stay."

She didn't look back as she unlocked the door and walked out, prepared to take down anyone who stood in her way.

X

"Who are you?" The growl that escaped Kody's throat made Varian jump, and Ruddiger scurried under one of the benches, but she didn't quell the anger that the voice ignited in her chest.

Fear was normally her default when it came to people, particularly with her abilities gone, but something instinctual lit up when he spoke. He wasn't safe, not at all.

The way she stepped in front of Varian would later make her, once again, evaluate her feelings toward him, but for now, she stood in front of him without thinking through the implications.

"Easy there," he chuckled, "I'm not your enemy."

His tone portrayed him as innocuous, but Kody had been desensitized to the act people like him put on years ago.

She wasn't sure why she was so certain that he was a threat, but every animal instinct that remained told her that he was bad news. Ruddiger seemed to agree, as he'd curled behind her legs now, hissing in the same direction as she did.

"King, maybe he's telling the truth."

"What do you want?"

The stranger chuckled again, a sound that Kody was quickly beginning to despise, "I just want out of here, same as you."

"Sounds to me that you're already out, so, _what_ do you want?"

"I wouldn't mind some help, if you're interested."

"Help with _what_?"

"Deal."

Kody tripped over whatever words she tried to throw at Varian before she was able to force out the simple question of " _What_?"

"Don't you want out of here?" Varian grabbed her arm, and she only just resisted pulling away.

She bit her lip, eyes snapping between Varian and the door, before she relented — why she relented would be something she questioned herself on later as well.

"What do we have to do?"

The door slid open a moment later, and the sudden influx of light made both of them blink until they became accustomed to the light once again. The man that stood in the door was grinning, and Kody couldn't resist narrowing her eyes in his direction.

"If you want out, just follow my lead."

Kody scoffed, and grabbed Varian's arm as he attempted to walk towards the man. "What's your name, before we do anything."

He flashed another smile, one that didn't quite mask the dangerous look in his eyes, "Andrew."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kody's past is definitely going to be explored more, and there's a little hint towards her abilities in this chapter, but her abilities aren't exactly straight-forward, either.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeet yeet its conflict time

The unconscious guard on the floor reminded her of what she'd done on the day she'd escaped the ring.

She'd brutalized everyone who stood in her way, displaying the years of strength that they'd supplied her. Everyone that stood in her way was cut down, left unconscious and bloody at the least, and at the worst...

There was a lot less blood this time around, and the guard's breathing was uninhibited. Nowhere near as horrible as what she'd done.

They'd deserved it, though. As far as she was concerned, these guards didn't, which somehow made it worse.

Kody trailed behind the two men, narrowed eyes trained on _Andrew's_ back.

She _knew_ men like him. She didn't know _how_ she knew what kind of man he was, but he made her skin crawl. He was the kind of man that had made her so uncomfortable around men, and she knew that from the moment she heard him speak.

Blame it on whatever animal intuition still flowed through her veins, even with her power awol.

"So, Andrew," Varian glanced over his shoulder, but she hardly noticed, her intense gaze focused only on Andrew, "what's the plan. Can't really help if we don't know that much, can we?"

He paused, turning to face the two with a leisurely grin painted on his face, "Well, that's simple," Kody's furrowed brow tensed farther, "the plan is to take over Corona."

_Of course it was._

"Absolutely _not!_ " Kody growled, taking a step forward before Varian blocked her path with his arm.

"Don't you want to get revenge?" Kody didn't miss the tinge of irritation in Varian's expression. This was obviously two-on-one. Fine, she could deal with that.

"Varian, I've been down the whole revenge-path-thing. It never goes the way you want it to. * _Trust_ * me." She felt the urge to touch the scar that covered her eye, "It never-"

" _Trust_ you?"

Kody backpeddled, physically and verbally, tripping over her words as she attempted to respond, and taking a step back as he took one forward. Whatever bravery her hatred for Andrew had sparked instantly melted back into familiar fear.

"You haven't even told me your real name!"

"I-" she bit her lip, "that doesn't have anything to do with-"

"Three days doesn't make you my friend, three days doesn't make you _anything_ to me!"

_Ouch._

He was _right_ but God, it always hurt to be told you weren't _anything._ She'd heard it plenty of times, hurt the same everytime. 

"You were thrown into that cell for hurting people by accident, right?"

Kody's eyes returned to Andrew, all suspicion gone - doe-eyed and obviously nervous. She nodded, "Yeah but, you don't know what I can do. What I am."

Varian was still bristling, and Kody's eyes snapped between him and Andrew. She could win in a fight, sure, but that didn't mean she wanted a fight; or that she'd even fight back. She hadn't expected him to lash out.

"If it was an accident, then did you really deserve to be locked up?"

Her resolve was fading faster than she'd like to admit. He _wasn't_ right. She was a monster, she understood that; she _accepted_ that, but someone telling her that she had a right to be angry? She wasn't used to being given permission.

And now that anger had faded, Andrew was looking a hell of a lot more like the men that had run her life for years. It was always easier to give in.

She felt the last of her resistance give way to compliance.

"Fine," she clenched her fists, "but I _won't_ hurt anyone."

From the corner of her eye, she saw Varian consider her words, and a flash of regret lit up his eyes - blue, like hers; she hadn't noticed before.

"She's right. I'll only help if no one's hurt."

Andrew's grin was just as shady as it had been before, but Kody kept her mouth shut.

"No one will be hurt. You have my word."

_As if that meant anything._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How about that new episode tho?? I can't wait to get to season 3 with this, bc I have IDEAS! 
> 
> Season 3 is a goldmine of inspiration for me uwu


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure how this chapter will go over. It was a bit rushed and hasn't been edited so hmu with comments or complaints.

Just because giving in was easier, didn't mean that it felt better to do so. What could she do though? She was powerless at the moment, and the only people she had were her unstable cellmate and the suspicious man that was leading them throughout the castle in the dead of night.

He was surprisingly well informed of the interior, leading them to the courtyard under a shining sky in less time than it had taken Kody to completely take in her cellmate. Varian was small, still taller than her by the slightest bit, but skinny, with dark circles below his eyes and his skin a few shades too pale to be healthy. His clothes were in tatters, and his arms had scrapes and brusies on them, obviously days old by this point. It was his hair that grabbed her attention the most, however, the blue streak in it was curious, and she wondered what the story behind it was.

Maybe an alchemy mishap? The thought almost made her smile, remembering just how excited he'd been as he spoke about his passion.

"I'd like you to meet," Kody's attention returned to Andrew, her hatred still under lock and key for the moment as she forced herself to comply, for her own sake, "my fellow Saporians."

They introduced themselves, but Kody didn't care enough to commit their names to memory. None of them struck as much of a cord with her as Andrew had, and she had her hands full with keeping herself from bolting like the scared animal she was.

"What are these two for?"

"Varian here," Andrew began, "is an alchemist. He'll be plenty of help. His cellmate here has powers, from what I heard, they're not functional at the moment, but I'm sure we'll have time to figure it out. Isn't that right, King?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

-

The next few weeks passed in a blur. With the king and queen's memories altered and the Saporians takeover from the shadows, Kody was able to keep herself out of the limelight for the most part. After all, for the moment, she was useless. Just an empty shell that may or may not have the potential for power.

"Are you alright?"

She'd kept to herself since being pulled into this hostile takeover, and she'd assumed her previous cellmate hadn't noticed, what with his help in their plans.

"I'm fine. Just waiting for them to try and force my powers back into me. Or to decide I'm better off doing their slave labor."

Varian remained quiet, situating himself across from her on the bench she was sat on.

"They're not going to hurt you."

Kody's eyes narrowed, her jaw clenching as he spoke, "Yeah? Because they're so trustworthy, right? It must be nice, being invited into their little group, but I've seen the way they look at me. And I know they told you to talk to me. They think you can convince me of something they can't."

"I'm not here to convince you of anything. I just wanted to tell you that we have a plan, where no one gets hurt."

"No one?"

"No one."

"Alright, then tell me."

Varian relaxed, more than he had in her presense since they'd been in the cell, "We're going to wipe all of their memories."

"Wait," she didn't like that, not in the slightest, but if no one was hurt, fine, but, "how? Can they do that with their magic?"

"No, we're going to do it with my alchemy. We're going to have the king pass an order, for the people to mine the materials I need."

"And how do you plan on testing it?"

Varian shrugged, "I'm sure we'll find a participent, willing or not."

Kody had known he'd done something bad from the moment he was thrown into her cell, but, now, there was something darker in his eyes. He saw something personal in this for him, against Rapunzel, most likely. He was helping the Saporians, but he had his own lot in this.

Kody had a sneaking suspicion that Andrew had been filling his head with even more hatred towards his old _friend_ , as well.

He hadn't come here to ask her something, she realized, he'd come here to tell her something.

"They want me to be your lab rat. You want me to be your lab rat."

"It wasn't my idea."

Kody's arms wrapped around her legs, "Willing or not. So I don't have a choice, do I?"

"I am sorry. I told them I didn't need a test subject, but-"

"Fine. It's fine. I could stand to lose a few memories." It helped that any damage done to her brain healed as quickly as the damage done to the rest of her body, not that he needed to know that. She narrowed her eyes again, "How do you plan on controling this Varian? You can't control what memories they lose with alchemy. What if this goes wrong?"

"It won't."

"But you can't know-"

"It _won't_. I won't let it."


End file.
